Ultimate 2.9, You made a convert out of me!! Bye Windows!

[baltimorebytes]

I am fairly computer literate. I had an Apple IIe many years ago. I programmed in basic and PASCAL as a freshman in high school. I have been a windows user continually since Windows 95. Needless to say I have been a long time Windows user. I have tried Linux twice before but I wasnt happy with the performance of the third party applications and compatibility.
After years of having Windows in my blood as my only real choice, I am now stunned.

I'm stunned at the sheer quality of this distro (see? Lingo!)

I use a small group of programs constantly and they all work really well. The install was pretty painless and there is plenty of documentation to refer to. I used Open Office for years and there it is. The internet embedded movies, tubes and streams work fine. The internet streaming music and radio work great. My PDFs print and show up. My photos are all arranged. Its simply impressive. I installed on a 6 year old Toshiba midrange laptop that had a fresh Vista install a year ago. I partition (shrinked) to make a clean space and the installer did the rest. I booted from the USB and when it gave me the choice, I chose [i] for install. I clicked the Ubuntu 10.10 link on the desktop and vooom! Be patient. The install will appear to stall, but it takes about 8 minutes to create the partition space for itself and then away it goes. It begins to show install progress and in 5 more minutes its done. Maybe you think 15 minutes is a long time...but when you see all the extra programs that are inclued for free, you'll swear it would have taken a full day or more to install all that on Widows and you would be correct.

For anyone considering but on the fence...do it. Just start and do it. DLthe iso to a USB drive and run it live from there. Take a look around. Notice that there are many many extra programs that normal users would usually have to hunt for, install and troubleshoot. Its all there. It is just like getting a fully loaded BMW 735i, but, imagine getting it for free and when you drive it, it is lighter and faster than everyone else's 735i from BMW. Why? Because yours was built by thousands of skilled hands all over the world instead of a couple hundred in one factory. Imagine all that intelligence buried in one cool toy.
Like anything, for some people will naturally feel apprehensive, and because it is different, it might feel odd, but hang in there. You will be astonished.
You know that music anti-piracy ad? "You wouldn't download a car would you?" Well...whatever to that!! I just downloaded a world class supercar, the Ultimate 2.9, and whats more, I can decide to pay whatever I want for it, including nothing! My donation is on its way.
Thank you to all the hard working, non-paid developers and thanks to you, Theeman, for helping me shed my skin. The sun shines brighter than ever on me now and it certainly isn't coming from Redmond CA.

*MODS feel free to use this text in whole or part in any reviews or promos. I meant every word and will back them up with emails if requested.

[dathem]

Hello, Welcome and glad that you here enjoying the Ultimate Edition 2.9! Thanks for the great report and taking the time to let us know how its working out for you! dathem

[billhedrick]

I love this! The thing is, I have seen baltimorebytes post here already, and he did the thing you need to do with linux, find the user group and ask questions! He is bound to win!

[JOHNNYG]

Definitely one of the top revues since the one I wrote !!! Thank you so much for your kind words and Enthusiasm ! I am sure you will be here and share your thoughts with us for a long time ! looking forward to your input ! Once again Thank you !

[pclinuxguru]

Just love good reviews when good reviews are due.

[athenroy]

Very nice review, for sure, and well deserved! Unfortunately I still have a few Windows specific animation programs and a few other types not found on Linux, so I still have to keep MS around! ! Currently, I just have a Wubi install of 11.04, so I wouldn't mess up Windows, BUT, I am ordering a brand new, shiny, 1 TiB HDD at the end of the week just for Linux. Of course, now the problem is, do I install 2.9 or wait for 3.0? Of course, with 1 T, I guess I could install both!

I to started messing with Linux in about 1999 or 2000. I bought a paperback book on Linux and in the back was an early Red Hat distro, back when it was free! What an experience! About 85 or 90 per cent had to be done through a terminal, even installing a sound driver was a challenge! Every once in a while, I'd try a Live CD, just to see how Linux had advanced. I'm surprised at the ease of program installation and the variety of programs available. I too use OpenOffice on Windows and the LibreOffice is about the same thing. I use Gimp and I just installed Skype.

I'm very impressed by the "eye candy" and visual appeal of Ultimate Edition. I had been looking at a distro using Enlightenment, but now feel Ultimate Edition would be better. I believe I read somewhere that TheeMahn said he will not be using Gnome 3 in the new version, which is probably a good choice. I run my install on the "classic" desktop and it works just fine.

So, I am waiting patiently for my new HDD so I can install at least Ultimate Edition 2.9 and feel confident it will meet almost all my needs, not to mention the stunning graphics! Hats off to TheeMahn and everyone else who may contribute to the Ultimate Edition project! Great work!

[JOHNNYG]

Thank YOU !